Sapphire as bright as cobalt spinel from Vietnam?

[Django74th]

Is there a sapphire with a similar bright neon blue as a fine cobalt spinel from Vietnam? Would it be Kashmir or a different variety? I’m looking for a bright blue stone (no hauyne, too soft) and I love the neon blue of cobalt spinel and can’t seem to find a comparable color in sapphire. Sapphires are a newer endeavor to me (I mostly live in a world of spinels and tourmaline) so I‘m less familiar with sapphire. Any sapphire lovers out there with ideas and suggestions? Do you think the main attraction to bright cobalt spinel is more associated with it‘s rarity? Thanks all for the input — I’d love to hear some other opinions on this.

 

[JackTrick]

Do you care if it’s natural and untreated?

Cobalt spinel is certainly prized for its rarity, but the neon bright blue of the best stuff has a big premium.

 

[Django74th]

I prefer unheated but given the price differential, if I found a heated sapphire with the same color, I’d certainly consider it!

 

[Bron357]

Yes, sapphires come in that hue, I’d call it vivid velvet, similar to the colour of Kashmir sapphires. But this colour in sapphire is also very desirable = expensive. So I don’t think it would be cheaper.

 

[Nick_G]

AFAIK the only sapphires that are comparable are the top Kashmir stones, and a few coming out of Madagascar. The latter would be cheaper, of course.

 

[fredflintstone]

Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Burma, Kashmir, and some countries in Africa have Sapphire that can be dead ringers of Cobalt blue Spinel. The only real difference is Spinel has more dispersion, which is also called fire, at least if it is not sleepy (hazey).